Jon Jones' college roommate, Colby Covington, set to make UFC debut

It’s safe to assume as Colby Covington prepares to embark on an UFC career, he’d like to be known as more than just the former roommate of the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. But for an athlete hoping to make a name on an increasingly crowded roster, being the man who trained with Jon Jones before Jon Jones was Jon Jones doesn’t seem like a terrible place to start.

“It’s been cool,” Covington said of watching Jones’ MMA career. “To see someone I was close with for the time that we were together accomplishing those things is very motivating for me. It puts in perspective that I can do the same thing.

“We used to train a lot together, and I know I’m capable of accomplishing all those same things that he has done. I just have to put in the hard work, and work to have one of the things that he has that a lot of people don’t have, and that’s the mental aspect. That’s what’s gotten him where he is. Seeing him have that success just gives me a lot of motivation that I can have that same success.”

Covington and Jones crossed paths at Iowa Central Community College. And as if having two future UFC fighters living together wasn’t enough, recent UFC signee Joe Soto was also living in the two-bedroom apartment.

“Me and Jon were in a bunk bed,” Covington recalled with a laugh. “I made him take the top bunk, and I took the bottom bunk. Joe was in the other room, and we would have some crazy pillow fights.”

Covington would eventually transfer to Oregon State University, where he twice earned All-American honors. But the seeds of an MMA career had already been planted during his time in Iowa with Jones and Soto.

“After wrestling practice would be over, we would stick in after practice, and we would just roll jiu-jitsu because Joe was a brown belt at the time,” Covington said. “He would show us stuff, and we had this guy that was a kickboxing guy that would show us all this crazy stuff. He was always doing Superman punches and spinning backfists and all these crazy techniques. We all kind of knew that we wanted to go to MMA when we got done with college.”

Covington made good on that commitment, using the assistance of Iowa Central wrestling coach Troy Bennett to help him get to Florida’s famed American Top Team.

“He had a little but of connections to the MMA world,” Covington said. “My roommate, Jon Jones, he kind of got him to Greg Jackson’s. … He got the ball rolling and got me to American Top Team. I got there and fell in love with a lot of the trainers and teammates.

Covington made his professional debut in February 2012, quickly working to a 3-0 record four months into his career. But things slowed from that point, as he fought just once in 2013 and has competed just once so far in 2014.

“I kind of had a couple of setbacks,” Covington said. “My third pro fight, I broke my hand in like the first 10 seconds of the fight. I dominated him, but I had to tough through a three-round fight with a broken hand. There was a couple of months recovery on that. I was getting ready for another fight, and then I broke my other hand in training, and I actually had to get surgery on that one.”

Covington admits the delays were frustrating, but he worked hard to keep a positive mindset through the ordeal, and he believes the time he spent in the gym, even when he wasn’t readying for a fight, proved incredibly beneficial.

“I was running into bad luck for a while, and then when I finally got healthy, no one would fight me,” Covington said. “I had probably 20 or 30 back-outs. We were looking for fights everywhere: overseas, Florida, anywhere. No one would accept a fight.

“It was tough, and I was complaining at the time and was really pissed of and real frustrated, but it was a good learning time for me. Even when I broke my hand, I was working on my other hand – my jab or my hook or my cross. It was a good developmental time for me.”

On Saturday, Covington (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) gets a chance to show off his progress, as he meets Chinese welterweight Anying Wang (2-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) on the preliminary card of “UFC Fight Night 48: Bisping vs. Le,” which takes place at The Venetian Macao’s CotaiArena in Macau. The entire 10-bout card streams live on UFC Fight Pass, with preliminary bouts kicking off at 6:30 a.m. ET (3:30 a.m. PT) and main-card matchups starting at 9 a.m. PT.

Wang, who was a cast member on the debut season of “The Ultimate Fighter: China,” has just two official professional bouts, so there isn’t a ton of fight footage to study. But Covington said that’s not really a concern.

“Honestly, my best friend, (UFC lightweight) Jorge Masvidal, he’s rubbed off on me a lot,” Covington said. “We lived together for a year. Everything MMA related, I’ve kind of learned and gathered knowledge from him. He doesn’t watch tapes. He doesn’t study opponents or do anything like that. He just worries about what he’s going to do in the fight. I’m kind of the same way. I don’t really worry about what my opponent is going to do. I’m just worried about what I’m going to do to him.”

The bout isn’t likely to attract a great deal of attention. After all, Covington is traveling halfway around the world to compete in a bout that streams in the U.S. in the middle of the night. But the 26-year-old understands the importance of making a positive first impression, especially when UFC President Dana White will be cageside. Covington believes Saturday is the start of something big.

“I don’t want to be cocky or get ahead of myself,” Covington said. “I’ve got a big fight coming up on Aug. 23 with Anying Wang.

“I won’t get ahead of myself, but I got into this sport for a reason. I really do feel like it’s my destiny to go out and accomplish this goal that I have. I’m not going to say that goal right now, but you can definitely expect big things from me, and I look forward to the challenges ahead.”

So for now, Covington is likely to be known as Jones’ former college roomie. But if he has his way, when it’s all said and done, “Bones” may be the one known as Covington’s bunkmate.

“Wrestling is my pedigree, and that’s always going to be something to fall back on, but I have a good kickboxing background, as well,” Covington said. “I did karate as a little kid, and I’ve worked extensively with some good boxing and kickboxing trainers. Paulino Hernandez, Jorge Masvidal’s coach, I’ve worked with him, too. He also works with Yoel Romero, and you see the things he’s done for those guys. I won a jiu-jitsu world title, too. I’m ready for anything. Anywhere the fight goes, I think I’ll be ready.

“You can just expect to see dominating performances from me. I never wrestled to just hang out or lay and pray. I wrestled to put points on the board. I want to put on performances for the fans, and I want to be exciting. I train with the best guys in the world every day. I think they’ll tell you what I say: I think I’m capable of being the best fighter in the world. I’m right up there right now with the top of the heap. I don’t think it’s too soon, and I’m prepared for any fight.”